- Sarah McElroy is literally following in her siblings' footsteps and blazing her own trail. Last weekend she finished 27th out of 111 runners with a time of 15:25 in the Newcomerstown Invitational cross country meet.

- Isabella Freimann

had another good run at the Scenic Hills Invitational held in Vincent last weekend. She placed 18th overall and 6th on her team.

- Marie Discini traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan last weekend for the Midwest Sectional tennis tournament where she reached the quarterfinals in both the singles and doubles divisions barely losing the singles match in a closely fought tie-breaker against a top-ranked player.

"Sport is a preserver of health."

- Hippocrates, Greek "father of medicine"

Fridays After School

Some of you may know that the school's founders clean the school each weekend. If anyone would like to help, we tackle the cleaning each Friday at 3:30. It takes about one and a half hours. All supplies are already on hand (although an extra vacuum cleaner would make the job even faster.) Thanks!

No Take-Backs!

Last week as Mrs. Rehl's students got to know one another, one of the lessons learned was that you cannot take back hurtful words. To illustrate the point, the students were instructed to squeeze out toothpaste from a tube onto a plate. They were then told to put the toothpaste back in the tube. Impossible! Just as it is impossible to undo the harm of ones unkind words.

Welcome to Veritas Classical Academy! Our mission is to develop the academic potential and personal character of each student through an academically rich educational experience.

TRUTH BEAUTY GOODNESS

Remembering September 11

Only a very few of our students were alive on the day our nation was attacked by terrorists. To commemorate and teach our students about the events, Mrs. Sabatino gave a short presentation to the entire assembly this morning. Thank you, Mrs. S!

American History Year

If you followed our newsletters last school year, you may have noticed a heavy emphasis on world, and often ancient, history. Our History curriculum is designed as a two-year cycle that focuses on world history (including ancient) one year and American history the following year. This means that each year all the grades study the same overall historical emphasis although at different points along the timeline. As students proceed through the grades they will have studied the entire timeline in both world and American history with increasing depth in the upper grades.

This year is our American history year, and you may expect stories about the students' adventures in history from the Founding through the present. To be sure, studying American does not preclude our foray into other areas. That would present a false and compartmentalized historical narrative. Events beyond our shores often intersect with American history and when they do, we take those opportunities to study a larger spectrum of history.

Our history curriculum goes far beyond names and dates on a timeline. Again, if you received our newsletters last year, you know that a classical education integrates all disciplines whenever possible. For example, students learning about the Battle of Gettysburg may also study Civil War-era music, read The Red Badge of Courage, study the geography, routes, distances, military tactics, and topography that informed the commanders organizing the attack, enjoy a meal typical of the period, or learn a dance from the era. This approach makes our journey through history not only more engaging but also more complete.

Bananas Have DNA and Other 5th/6th Grade News

Indeed! Bananas do have DNA, just ask any of our 5th and 6th grade students. Miss Sorensen's students have begun exploring biological concepts using microscopes to view the cells of bananas and celery.

Miss Sorensen's class has also begun practicing their Spencerian Script while enjoying Antonín Dvořák's Symphony from the New World, one of the most popular of all symphonies. In fact, Neil Armstrong took a recording of it with him to the moon during the Apollo 11 mission, the first moon landing.

The class has started reading and discussing Prince Caspian, the second book in the Chronicles of Narnia by C. S. Lewis. Many people don't realize that the Chronicles is a series of seven novels. Although The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe was the first book published and perhaps the best known, in chronological order, The Magician's Nephew precedes it and many believe it should be read first. There is serious disagreement about the proper order for reading the series. What did the author think? In a 1957 reply by Lewis to an American fan, he wrote:

"I think I agree with your [chronological] order for reading the books....When I wrote The Lion
I did not know I was going to write any more. Then I wrote P. Caspian as a sequel and still didn't think there would be any more, and when I had done The Voyage I felt quite sure it would be the last, but I found I was wrong. So perhaps it does not matter very much in which order anyone read them."

The Science of Ice Cream

It was a sweltering September day and the 3rd/4th grade class was busy studying the properties of sodium. Clearly, the most enjoyable way to really study sodium compounds is to make ice cream! You see, to create this frosty treat the old fashioned way you must ensure that the ice packed around the ice cream mix is colder than the ice cream mix itself. Salt effectively lowers the freezing/melting point of water, and therefore, a saltwater slush packed around the ice cream base will thicken and freeze the ice cream before the ice melts completely. The process has worked for centuries and yet again this week at VCA although the students reported that they still need to perfect the recipe before they begin marketing their product!

Thank you again for your interest in our school. Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to schedule a private meeting.